Timetable: Milwaukee Road - Ontonagon Sub - Channing to Ontonagon

This Milwaukee Road branch line was built as the Ontonagon & Brule River railroad and often referred to as the O&B for many years. The line extended from Channing west northwest to Ontonagon. Iron River trains used the first 8 miles of this branch to reach their own line at Kelso Junction. Station hours and siding capacity listed is as of 1938 with 44' cars. Today, this line has been pulled up east to Rockland and seldom used west of Sidnaw. This branch line had spurs to the Amasa-Porter Mine (1914-1927), the Warner Mine (1893-1937), Michigan Mine (1893-1916) and the White Pine Mine (13 miles, from 1917-1931). The dispatcher was located in Channing for this line.

Key: C=Coal | CS=Car Shop | D=Open > Day | DN=Open Day and night | DS=Dispatcher | DT=Double Main Track | EH=Engine house | F=Diesel Fuel | HI=Half Interlocked Crossing | I=Interlocked Crossing | J=Junction | N=Open at night | P=Passing Track w/40' car capacity | Q=Quarry | RH=Round house # stalls | RT=Railroad Resort | S=Scales | T=Turntable | TC=Telegraph call | W=Water | X=Crossing | Y=Wye | Yard=Yard

Notes

Channing: Junction with the MILW line south to Green Bay and north to Champion, and the Escanaba & Lake Superior main line to Wells. The MILW had trackage rights on the E&LS for ore trains prior to their pooling agreement with the C&NW. The MILW and E&LS dispatcher was located at Channing.

Kelso Junction: This was the junction with the MILW line to Crystal Falls and Iron River.

Frost Junction: This was a junction with the MILW branch to Kenton.

McKeever: This was the junction with the Copper Range railroad to Houghton. For a period of time, the MILW ran passenger trains into the Copper Country on this route.

Riddle Junction: This was a junction with the Mineral Range's Keweenaw Bay-Mass Branch.

Ontonagon: The White Pine branch (southeast from Ontonagon) was built during World War I to haul copper ore. After the war, it was used to haul logs. The Greenwood Lumber Company ran west from Ontonagon to the Union River near the Porcupine Mountains from WW I until 1930. The Thompson-Wells Company ran southwesterly from Ontonagon during the 1920's. The Gorman Lumber Company ran easterly from Ontonagon to log 30,000 acres but closed in 1948.

[REF] = [ETT]{MRL] + other sources.

Time Line

1882. Line built by Ontonagon & Brule River railroad from Mass to end of track in Ontonagon. [MRL]

1889. The line is extended from Mass to Sidnaw by the O&B. [MRL]

1890. O&B is purchased by Milwaukee & Northern. [MRL]

1893. The line is further extended from Sidnaw to Channing by the Milwaukee & Northern. [MRL]

1893. Line is extended east from Sidnaw to Channing and a connection with the main line south to Green Bay. [MRL]

1893. The Milwaukee & Northern is purchased by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad. [MRL]

1898. In noting that the Milwaukee & Northern will be extended to Crystal Falls, it was noted in the Diamond Drill newspaper that the original route of the Channing to Sidnaw branch was intended to go through Crystal Falls and that they were influenced not to do so by the very rosey promises of discovering iron ore along the present route which was held out to them by J. Parke Channing. There were a number of explorations started soon after the building of the branch but no ore was found, except near Amasa. Mr. Flewelling, being the attorney for all the mining companies in Crystal Falls, is in the position to further this project and has the unanimous and hearty backing of the people of the city. [DD-1898-1210]

1906. February. In the 97 miles between Channing and Ontonagon, known as the O.& B. branch, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad has an expensive piece of trackage in the winter. Every other day and sometimes oftener the big snowplows go over the line followed by the flanger and the spreader and this process is kept up almost continuously.

At present the snow in that region is said to be fully eight feet deep on the level and in places it is drifted so that trainmen standing on the top of a freight caboose have to step up a couple of feet in order to reach the top. Throughout the present winter snow storms have followed each other in rapid succession. About a foot of snow fell in that region of the Ontonagon branch this week. [DFP-1906-0223]

1925. At Ontonagon Junction: The wye at Ontonagon was re-constructed in 1925 to accommodate larger engines that would not fit on the turntable. Larger engines were needed because of the heavy logging business off the White Pine line. This branch ran from the main line at the edge of town to the Smurfit-Stone paper mill. [GB]

1928. The CM&StP is reorganized into the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific railroad. [MRL]

1931. On the abandonment of the Ontonagon Railroad, parts of this company in Ontonagon continue to be operated by the MILW as yard trackage. [MRL]

1938. The depot at Amasa was open from 0800-1700 and from 2020 to 2100 hours. In 1938 Sidnaw was open from 0900 to 1800.

1938. Sidnaw crossing had gates. In the 1970's the crossing was protected by an automatic interlocking. Each route has 2 aspects, red and green.

1964. The Milwaukee Road operates three round trip trains from Channing to Ontonagon, but it also provides daily switching to customers in Ontonagon. [EDP-1964-0320]

1980. Line is purchased by Escanaba & Lake Superior. [MRL]

1990's. Almost every siding on the O&B had a landing that loaded pulpwood. The only ones that didn't was Kieran and Rockland. When the pulpwood was running heavy it wasn't unusual to have 15-cars per day. Sidnaw was a heavy shipper of pulpwood. It was loaded on the east wye and the passing track. The James River Paper Company had a chipping plant at Triangle and loaded 10 cars every day, headed to Green Bay. Over the years, traffic eroded. Triangle closed in 1992. Pulpwood business suffered as paper mills in Wisconsin closed.

2011. The railroad line between Rockland and Ontonagon was abandoned by the Escanaba & Lake Superior and the track removed. This was the former O&B branch of the Milwaukee Road. In 2014, the right of way was sold to the Michigan DNR to establish a key trail connection. [Village of Ontonagon]